CLEVELAND, Ohio – Since the pandemic, many independent live music venues across the country have struggled to stay open and make a profit despite being a vital economic part of metropolitan areas, according to “The State of Live,” a recent study published by the National Independent Venue Association.
The report, released in June, is the first comprehensive national economic research study examining independent live entertainment venues, festivals, promoters, and performing arts centers.
The purpose is to quantify economic contributions, to examine the challenges facing the sector’s sustainability, and to provide data to drive advocacy and support.
Here in Cleveland, the independent venue sector includes music and comedy venues, city-operated venues such as Cain Park and The Grove, and area festivals such as Tri-C Jazzfest, Thyagaraja and Larchmere Porchfest. Among them, only 25 percent of the city’s independent stages self-identified as profitable in 2024.
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Nevertheless, the local independent live performance industry in Cleveland contributes $742.5 million to the state GDP and generates $1.17 billion in total economic output. The city’s venues account for nearly 50 percent of the indie live entertainment GDP of the entire state of Ohio, more than 28 states.
Additionally, the indie venue industry employs nearly 3,000 people and supports more than 6,144 jobs, which is in line with other cities, including Portland, OR, and Washington, DC, while generating annual wages and benefits of more than $450 million, more than 28 states. Cleveland venues employ more than twice the national average per capita and rank among the highest per-capita levels of industry employment across peer cities.
Other findings include that Cleveland venues entertained 723,089 fans and generated $34.9 million in state and local taxes in 2024.
Related Reading: Rock Solid Gala 2025: How Cleveland is fighting to save independent music venues
Those more than 700,000 fans generated $25 million in off-site spending, defined as money visitors spend at local businesses and services away from main attractions and events. Off-site spending includes restaurants, local shops, gas stations, and hotels that generate more revenue outside of the ticket costs, boosting the local economy.
The total tourism impact reached $38.5 million with more than $20 million of that spent on lodging, while the rest was spent in Cleveland’s restaurants and bars ($2.4 million), shopping (1.2 million), fuel, parking and transportation ($644,000) and $240,000 on other forms of entertainment.
But while those numbers may look good, off-site tourism was less than 4 percent of the indie venue sector’s contribution to the county’s GDP, lagging behind the national average of 12.3.
On the national scale, 91 percent of independent venues operate year-round, with 62 percent of venues hosting local showcases, and 31 percent of their total expenses going directly to artists. The country’s indie venues served more than 187.3 million fans, producing 153, 646 events and supporting more than 908,000 jobs.
For more information on “The State of Live Study” both national and local, go to nivassoc.org,.
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‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.cleveland.com ’
